Hi Mike,
My kit does the same thing and the metal is all USA made and fabricated. The sockets are high quality STUCCHI brand, AND the kit is almost half the price.
Our 6 lamp fixture is made in the USA for another $2.88..
https://www.prolighting.com/commercial-lighting/fixtures-high-low-bay-high-bays/b4146ssumxx-18w5k.html
Surface mounting is no problem. You can run screws through the top of the fixture - two phillips head screws will drop the reflector...
I went with 4000K in my garage. I sit under 4000K led flat panel office lights all day, couldn't imagine working under 5000K for extended periods unless I'm in a high bay area. Since I have a choice, I choose 4000K.
We hardly sell any ballast compatible lamps. Most of our guys are doing single end wiring. Our GLL tube can be wired single end or opposing ends and is also ballast compatible.
I installed these in my garage with 4000K tubes. I prefer to work under 4000K rather than 5000K. Personal preference though. I'll try to grab some pictures this weekend.
CooperS - it is my pleasure. I should've joined sooner. We appreciate your business and the referrals from the forum. I realize that there are tons of places to buy lighting. Any help we can provide while also supplying quality products makes us happy and keeps us going. I'm currently revamping...
My 2 cents...
I'm a Maxlite dealer and a James dealer. We've sold over half a million James tubes over the past 3-4 years and I can count on one hand the amount of failures.
If you look at the UL link, the warning was for 1,000 tubes they made in 2014 as test samples before hitting the...
You're correct in simply screwing through the fixture into the rafter. The fixtures only weigh 20 lbs or so, use a heavy wood screw and you'll be fine.
This fixture produces very little heat. No problem surface mounting this fixture. Here's the one I sell. Save 7% with code GARAGEJOURNAL.
https://www.prolighting.com/et-hbl2200050wh1.html
We offer a "collapsible" 8' fixture. It's (2) 4' fixtures joined with a chase ****** and wired together. We're able to ship via FedEx ground vs LTL freight.
Save 7% with coupon code "GARAGEJOURNAL"
Without tubes: https://www.prolighting.com/sl913tk-1x8.html
With 5K tubes...